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The council spent £6.4 million on employees and running costs for providing parking in 2017/18.

It raked in £14.1 million in income - of which all but £15,000 was in sales, fees and charges.

Generally the cost to the council for providing parking has fallen over the ten years for which data is available, while the amount of income from sales, charges and fees has risen slightly - leading to the increase in profits.

Parking profits up across England as well

Councils across England made £871.5 million in profits from parking in 2017/18, the highest amount since records began in 2008/09.

Profits were up 6% from £819.8 million in 2016/17, and have rocketed 80% in a decade, having stood at £483.4 million in 2008/09.

The Council made millions from parking

It cost councils £785.9 million to provide parking services in 2017/18, with costs generally remaining stable over the past decade.

Income from parking services across England was £1.7 billion in 2017/18, including £1.6billion raised from sales, fees and charges.

Income from sales, fees and charges has risen by 6% year-on-year and by more than a quarter since 2008/09 - suggesting most of the increase in profits for councils has come from more income from sales, fees and charges.

Motorists already 'hard-pressed'

The RAC head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes, said charges from councils were making things hard for drivers.

He said: “While it is right that local authorities have the ability to control parking, these sort of inflation-busting increases are additional expenses on top of already hard-pressed motorists who have been contending with rising fuel prices and worsening local road conditions.

“It also reinforces the notion that motorists are an easy target for cash-strapped local authorities so it is vital they demonstrate that revenues are reinvested back into local road maintenance and improvements.”

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'It's a stealth tax'

The AA slammed councils for using parking charges as a "stealth tax".

AA spokesman, Luke Bosdet, said increasing parking charges at a time when high streets were struggling was the wrong approach, saying councils should be working to encourage people to visit high streets and spend.

He said: “Firstly, the high cost of parking is sucking money out of consumer spending, money that could be spent in shops.

“Secondly, councils are increasingly reliant on their parking money to prop up their other services.

"In that respect, it’s a stealth tax.

"It should cover the cost of providing the service.

“What it’s become is a massive source of income from councils to spend on things not related to parking.”

A parking ticket being placed on a car in Croydon (Image: Paul Martyniuk)

'Councils are on your side'

Martin Tett, a councillor and the transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, assured drivers that councils across England are on their side.

He argued all the money made from fines and charges is spent on running services, as well as carrying out road repairs.

Mr Tett added: “Councils are on the side of motorists and shoppers.

"They have to strike a balance when setting parking policy, both on street and off street, to make sure that there are spaces available for residents, high streets are kept vibrant and traffic is kept moving.

“Councils throughout the country are already leading the way in transforming the future potential of their town centres in the face of unprecedented changes in shopping habits and the retail landscape and parking is only part of a successful solution to high performing town centres.”